The Toronto Blue Jays were one of the most active teams in free agency and were supposed to enter this week, the beginning of spring training, with aspirations and expectations of being American League contenders after their series of moves.

Instead, the first two days of spring training were mired by injuries and moves from within the Blue Jays' division in the American League East that have cast a cloud over the joy of spring.

The most-improved facet of the team going into the spring was the pitching staff. Toronto signed starters Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to a seven-year, $210 million contract and a three-year, $30 million deal, respectively. The Jays also brought in reliever Tyler Rogers on a three-year, $37 million contract.

On the first day of spring training, the pitching staff was also one of the hardest-hit units of the team with early injury reports.

According to various reports, right-handed reliever/starter Bowden Francis underwent UCL reconstruction surgery and will be out for the year, and right-handed starting pitcher Shane Bieber is having his ramp-up delayed due to forearm fatigue.

These injuries led to speculation that the Blue Jays could look for reunions with either starting pitchers Chris Bassitt or Max Scherzer, who were both free agents after spending 2025 with Toronto. Those two options were limited to just one Wednesday after Bassitt signed a one-year, $18.5 million contract with Toronto's American League East rivals, the Baltimore Orioles.

Bassitt spent almost all of 2025 as a starting pitcher. He posted a 3.96 ERA with 166 strikeouts in 170.1 innings pitched across 32 appearances (31 starts).

However, it was in the playoffs where Bassitt shined. He had a 1.04 ERA and fanned 10 batters in 8.2 innings pitched across seven outings, all out of the bullpen.

With the injuries to the staff and the departure of Bassitt, there's now more of a limelight on another Toronto pitcher: right-hander Jose Berrios.

The 10-year veteran had a tumultuous end to 2025. He registered a 4.17 ERA to go with 138 strikeouts in 166 innings across 32 appearances (31 starts). The Blue Jays intended to move Berrios from the starting rotation to the bullpen at the conclusion of the regular season and the playoffs but he ended the year on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation.

In a recent appearance on the Blue Bird Territory podcast, which was recorded before Bassitt signed with the Orioles, former Toronto pitcher and one-time All-Star Ricky Romero discussed how Berrios can serve in the hybrid starter/reliever role in 2026.

"I think one of them for sure," Romero said on the podcast. "I think Chris Bassitt was very valuable last season. Obviously Max, we all know who he is. All the accolades he comes with. ... Jose Berrios has been the horse of this team for such a long time. I feel like he's an easy guy to root for and very team-oriented. ... To me, he becomes that guy that can just slide right in. He knows what it takes and he doesn't have to be the 'ace'-type of pitcher. He just has to go in there, eat up innings and give us a chance to win every fifth day."

It's unclear how the Blue Jays will proceed with the two aforementioned injuries. Bringing back Scherzer remains an option but a deal would likely push the team even further beyond the current $244 million luxury tax threshold.

Regardless of how Toronto proceeds with its starting rotation, Berrios will likely play a big role in how the Blue Jays approach the chaos.

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